Hateley had made under 100 League appearances whilst at Highfield Road and the move to Portsmouth proved to be the catalyst for the rest of his career.

At Portsmouth, then manager Bobby Campbell gave Hateley a run in the side and the big striker responded scoring 22 goals in 38 appearances.

Hateley's form in 1983-84 prompted Bobby Robson to give him a chance in the England set up, Hateley having already played 10 times at under 21 level. He came on as a substitute for Trevor Francis in the June 1984 friendly at home to the USSR, which England lost 2-0.

That summer, though, saw him snapped up by Milan and he flew out to northern Italy along with fellow England international Ray Wilkins who had also been bought by the rossoneri.

Effectively replacing Luther Blissett's place in the squad (after he had gone back to Watford), Hateley had a decent first two seasons in Milan, scoring at an average of a goal every three games.

His third season at the San Siro did not according to plan. With limited appearances (not too many of his 21 games were starts), Hateley only managed to score two goals all season.

A lack of playing opportunites for his club was one of the reasons that in the 1987/88 season, Hateley only made seven subsitute appearances for England though that was also attributable to the partnership that had formed between Gary Lineker, by then of Barcelona, and Peter Beardsley.

Hateley's move to Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers in 1990 saw him move to the club where he would play the best football of his career. Initially though it took him some time to win over the Rangers fans because he was effectively keeping goalscoring hero Ally McCoist on the sidelines.

When Mo Johnstone was sold to Everton in 1991, McCoist took his place in the side to form one of the most lethal striking partnerships in British football and were the main reason for Rangers' winning of the domestic Treble in 1992-93.

Particularly memorable in that time was the great European run the team had, with Mark scoring a spectacular volleyed goal against Leeds United at Elland Road. Ally McCoist would probably not have scored as many goals as he did, if it hadn't been for Hateley's work and effort. Hateley credited Rangers success to the great team spirit, fostered by Walter Smith. 

Hateley left Rangers in 1995 for QPR, but returned 18 months later because of an injury crisis at Ibrox and helped the club in their quest for a ninth championship in a row'.

After Rangers and QPR, Hateley had short spells at Leeds United (on loan), Hull City and Ross County.

In total he won 32 England caps between 1984 and 1992 and scored nine goals.

Mark Hateley Factfile 

Name: Mark Hateley 
Date of Birth: 7 November 1961 
Place of Birth: Liverpool
Height: 6' 1''
Weight: 11 10 
Clubs: Coventry, Portsmouth, Milan, Monaco, Rangers, QPR, Leeds Utd, Hull City, Ross County
Position: Forward

Year

Club

Apps.

Goals

1978/79

Coventry City

1

0

1979/80

Coventry City

4

0

1980/81

Coventry City

19

3

1981/82

Coventry City

34

13

1982/83

Coventry City

35

9

1983/84

Portsmouth

38

22

1984/85

Milan

21

7

1985/86

Milan

22

8

1986/87

Milan

23

2

1987/88

Monaco

28

14

1988/89

Monaco

18

6

1989/90

Monaco

13

2

1990/91

Rangers

33

10

1991/92

Rangers

30

21

1992/93

Rangers

37

19

1993/94

Rangers

42

22

1994/95

Rangers

23

13

1995/96

Rangers

0

0

1995/96

QPR

14

2

1996/97

QPR

13

1

1996/97

Leeds United

6

0

1996/97

Rangers

4

1

1997/98

Hull City

9

0

1998/99

Hull City

12

3

1999/00

Ross County

2

0


Mark Hateley's Honours

1988 French Championship
1990 Scottish Championship
1991 Scottish Championship
1991 Scottish League Cup
1992 Scottish Championship
1993 Scottish Championship
1993 Scottish Cup
1993 Scottish League Cup
1994 Scottish Championship
1994 Scottish League Cup
1997 Scottish Championship